Is your sales team disciplined, consistent?

We were working with a client who is the founder of a highly successful growth start-up in Northern Colorado. We asked him for his definition of discipline (we find many founders are strong in their discipline). He said quite simply: being consistent. When we talk about being consistent in sales, it can mean two things. Most of the time, we’re talking about consistency in behavioral execution including prospecting behaviors, sales call activity and application of good fundamental technique.

Are the people on your business development team consistently meeting new people and qualifying prospects? Are they consistent in terms of their follow-up, not only with new prospects but deals in the pipeline?

You can also evaluate your team’s perception of consistency among existing customers and prospects. Does the same sales rep call on your customers and prospects over time or is it a different rep every nine months to a year due to sales turnover?  Both elements of consistency make a difference in your sales outcomes.

Early in my selling career I was in the unenviable position of selling the 13th rated product on a list of 12 competitors. We had tons of turnover. I was persistent and didn’t know any better so I would consistently make sales calls on the best qualified prospects even though they would say things like, we’re not in a position to buy from you right now, or come back in six months when our budget is updated.

I’d periodically call on the phone, drop my business card off or come with any other reason I could think of to get in front of the prospect (I now know this was very poor strategic account management).

However, there was a positive lesson learned here. After what seemed like my 15th visit when I got a chance to talk to the prospect, I said, “The first time we met, you said you weren’t sure you would have any business for me, but you invited me to check in occasionally. You could’ve easily told me to stop dropping by. Why didn’t you?”

The prospect replied that he says that to most salespeople, knowing that they will give up after a call or two and this way he doesn’t have to endure their annoying sales pitch or handle their objections. In his words: “I let them get rid of themselves.” Interestingly enough, that prospect became my client and a good friend who did business with our company for years.

This scenario is a touch challenge for salespeople. I by no means am condoning calling on unqualified prospects. On the other hand, strong sales organizations have identified best-fit prospects with the potential to do a lot of business over time. An average salesperson will make a few calls and give up.

As the example above suggests, some prospects may be using this blow off technique as a gauge to test whether the salesperson is in it for the long haul and committed to their profession and their organization. After all, how do you like it in your business when your vendors keep turning their sales reps over and you have a new one to train every nine months or a year?

This is where consistency, in terms of your salespeople’s actions and the perception across your entire team, is so valuable. People buy from people they like. Tenure in a relationship builds trust and allows for the salesperson to get to know the customer’s business and, in turn, provide better service and advice on other problems that can be solved by adding new services and products. It’s good for the salesperson, it’s good for the customer and it’s good for your business.

We’re not condoning longevity for longevity’s sake for a sales team. We are asking the sales leader to look inward and examine their stability. Are they hiring right so they attract salespeople who produce and serve the client well? Do they have a specific retention plan in place to reward their top salespeople (who are being courted right now by countless companies due to low unemployment)? This might be a good day to walk down the hall and thank your salespeople for what they do and take them out to lunch or suggest they take a half day off on you to go spend some well-deserved personal time. What do you think?

Bob Bolak is president of Sandler Training. Reach him at 303-928-9163 or bbolak@sandler.com.

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